The field is mighty in Las Vegas, where the nation’s No. 2 team, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), is amond several elite teams in the Durango Fall Classic, the nation’s premiere girls high school volleyball tournament.
Kamehameha-Hawaii, ranked No. 9 in the Star-Advertiser Girls Volleyball Top 10, is seeded third in its pool behind Mater Dei and Woods Cross (Utah). Woods Cross is ranked No. 52 in the nation (MaxPreps).
Hawaii’s No. 1 team, ‘Iolani, is the top seed in its pool, grouped with Mercy, the No. 2 team from Kentucky, Foothill (Nev.) and Vista Murrieta (Calif.). Foothill is No. 4 in Nevada.
Kamehameha, ranked third in Hawaii, is pooled with Texas powerhouse Cornerstone Christian, the No. 9 team in the country. The Warriors are seeded second in their pool, which includes South Torrance (Calif.) and host Durango.
The two-day tournament begins on Friday.
“Every year we go into the Durango Fall Classic ready to battle against the top teams in the nation. We look to build upon our successes and put ourselves into a situation to be challenged. The teams play much differently than they do in Hawaii. We will have to be more consistent and to be resilient throughout the weekend,” said Kamehameha coach Chris Blake, who has guided the program to 13 state championships since 2005.
The Warriors flew into Las Vegas on Wednesday. On Friday, they open pool play with Nevada’s No. 31 team, Durango (10-7). Kamehameha then play Texas powerhouse Cornerstone Christian (19-3), ranked No. 9 nationally (MaxPreps). South Torrance (14-2), ranked No. 56 in California, follows.
Sixteen pools, four sites (Silverado, Foothill, Coronado, Desert Oasis). The 64-team field includes Ann Kang Invitational champion Sierra Canyon, which is still the No. 1 team in the nation. Observers at the Ann Kang title match will remember ‘Iolani leading the Trailblazers in the final set, 6-2.
‘Iolani moved up a spot to No. 17 in the latest MaxPreps rankings.
Durango’s field is a basic who’s who of elite teams from across the country. Sixteen of the top 25 teams in the MaxPreps rankings are in the tournament.
Top teams in the Durango falls classic
>> No. 1 Sierra Canyon (Calif.), 15-0
>> No. 2 Mater Dei (Calif.), 14-0
>> No. 3 Assumption (Kent.), 18-0
>> No. 4 Orangewood Christian (Fla.), 7-0
>> No. 6 Xavier College Prep (Ariz.), 4-0
>> No. 8 Prestonwood Christian (Texas), 20-2
>> No. 9 Cornerstone Christian (Texas), 18-3
>> No. 10 Harrisburg (S.D.), 6-0
>> No. 11 Byron Nelson (Texas), 21-3
>> No. 12 Torrey Pines (Calif.), 3-1
>> No. 13 Carroll (Ind.), 19-0
>> No. 15 Marist (Ill.), 10-0
>> No. 17 ‘Iolani, 10-1
>> No. 20 Mercy (Mich.), 18-1
>> No. 21 Archbishop Mitty (Calif.), 5-0
>> No. 23 Cathedral Catholic (Calif.), 9-2
Between Wednesday night and Sunday morning, there will be time to study, finish homework assignments and, of course, explore places like Trader Joe’s.
“The limit to how much fun a volleyball player’s life can be is the amount of time in the day. It is a delicate balance of a scholar-athlete,” Blake said. “They have become very efficient in how they are balancing all of the things and the amount of sacrifices they make in order to be great is astounding. They always seem to find a way to recover and do it all again tomorrow.”
